The invention relates to a wheel bearing arrangement of a vehicle axle with a wheel bearing that contains at least two rolling element rows for supporting a wheel hub that can be driven by a drive element or a wheel hub that is not driven.
Wheel bearing arrangements for vehicle wheels comprise a rotating wheel hub that connects the wheel bearing to the vehicle wheel and the brake disk, as well as, in the case of driven wheels, also to a drive element constructed, for example, as an articulated socket. Via the outer ring that is fixed in position, the wheel bearing is further connected to a wheel carrier of the chassis. A fixing of the wheel bearing on the wheel hub is realized, in particular, by an end-side rolling-riveted collar of the wheel hub receptacle.
The wheel hub and its attachment to the wheel carrier are exposed directly to loads introduced via the vehicle wheel during driving operation. Therefore, it is necessary that the wheel hub and its wheel bearing are designed reliably and produced with high quality.
The rolling-riveted collar for permanent fixing of the wheel bearing inner ring allows wheel bearing arrangements to be provided that are already pretensioned in the manufacturer's plant and can be mounted directly on the wheel carrier at the vehicle customer's facilities. This prevents incorrect assembly of the wheel bearing in which, for example, the pretensioning is not adjusted correctly. Because the pretensioning of a wheel bearing is a decisive factor in its service life, the rolling bearing manufacturer can control and optimally adjust the pretensioning by the rolling-riveted collar or the riveting and consequently provide an extensive guarantee for the product.
From DE 10 2005 019 731 A1, a wheel bearing arrangement is known that is constructed as an angular contact ball bearing and is pretensioned with a rolling-riveted collar, wherein, on the end, an axial gearing is introduced into the rolling-riveted collar. From DE 36 36 243 A1, a wheel bearing arrangement is known in which the wheel hub and an articulated socket of the drive element form a positive-fit, meshing engagement with each other by means of a pair of corresponding spur gearings, in order to transmit a drive torque. As an alternative to spur gearing, solutions are known in which the wheel hub is connected to the drive element by means of radial or internal gearing. In FIG. 6, US 2012/0076450 A1 discloses a wheel bearing arrangement for non-driven wheels with a wheel bearing constructed as a two-row conical roller bearing. A separate inner ring is here fixed by means of a rolling-riveted collar of the wheel hub.
FIG. 5 shows the setup of a wheel bearing arrangement 1 that is known from DE 10 2005 009 935 A1 and encloses a wheel bearing with two rolling element rows 5, 6. The rolling elements are guided on the outside in a flange 2 that is connected integrally to a wheel carrier and performs the function of a bearing ring. On the inner side, the first rolling element row 5 is guided on the wheel hub 3 and the other rolling element row 6 is guided on an inner ring 4 that is fit in the wheel hub 3. A position of the inner ring 4 is secured by a rolling-riveted collar 9 of the wheel hub 3 that is supported on the end side 11 of the inner ring 4. In the installed state, the wheel bearing arrangement 1 is in active connection with a drive element (not shown). For this purpose, gearing that engages, for example, with a positive fit in gearing of an articulated socket of the drive element is formed on the end side in the rolling-riveted collar 9 of the wheel hub 3.